Light controllers adapted to control a number of light emitting devices in a lighting system are widely known in the field of dynamic light controlling, typically used in connection with entertainment lighting systems.
The light controller acts as the primary controller adapted to send control commands to the light emitting devices in the light systems and can as a consequence be used to create very complex light shows. The light commands can be send automatically to the light emitting devices but can also be executed manually using user input means (like button, slide controllers, rotary button, touch screens or other input devices). The light designers and programmers use also the light controller to program and reprogram sequences of light effects, which is executed during the light shown.
Often lighting systems and light shows are very large and the light designer and programmers thus need to program the light show from different physical locations in order to adjust the light show properly. However in many situations, this is not possible as the light controller often is positioned centrally. Presently this have been solved by providing portable devices, which remotely communicate with the central light controller and thus enables the designers and programmers to program the light show from different physical location. The present setups requires that the entire light show have been properly setup and connected to the main light controller, which result in the fact the light designers and programmers often need to perform their adjustments in very short time. Further there is a tendency that the touring industry has at least two set of equipment in order to setup the touring equipment at the next destination while the show is running at another destination. The light designers then moves the light program between the two destinations using memory means likes storing devices in order to make sure that the last adjustments of the light show are copied to the light controller at the next destination. However upon arrival at the new destination further adjustments need to be performed as early as possible. Another issue is the fact that light shows tend to vary in size and require different levels of computational processing power from the lighting control device. In addition to this often it is desired to have a redundant backup system available in case of a failure of control equipment. Lighting personal needs to provide multiple desks for these different purposes.
Simplified light controllers, which enable persons not trained in light systems to control a light system, are also known. Common for the simplified light controllers is the fact that they comprise a simplified user interface enabling the user to activate a number of preprogrammed dynamic light sequences and/or static light scenes. The preprogrammed dynamic light sequence must be programmed at a light controller or a PC running a programming software and then stored in the simplified light controller, as a consequence the simplified light controllers can only be used to execute the preprogrammed dynamic light sequences and/or static light scenes and it is not possible to reprogram the light show using such devices. The S.T.I.C.K. control keypad provided by Nicolaudie-Sunlite is an example of such simplified light controller and a product brochure and products specification describing the device can be found at:                http://web.archive.org/web/20090117173100/http://www.nicolaudie.com/do wnloads/files/brochure_stick.pdf        http://web.archive.org/web/20100816004846/http://www.ecolightled.com/do wnloads/Ic_nl_dmx_stick_web.pdf        
Another example of such simplified light controller is the Colorfox VX01 provided by Martin Professional A/S. The colorfox is specifically designed for architectural use with dynamic color changing fixtures. This simple control solution allows users to customize and personalize a variety of architectural lighting settings.